The peculiar and the profound

Thank you very much for that citation, Justin --I would have no other
way of learning of such books' existence.  I was shocked that I had
access to several important/basic books that Wharton & Hundius were
lacking --so, generally, we're all re-inventing the wheel around here.

There is something to be said for writing _ex nihilo_ --you certainly
don't reproduce the errors of others --but make errors for yourself.
As I recently said to a colleague, "We learn nothing from making
errors, but only from noticing and redressing them".  Hopefully, we'll
have enough scholars in mutual correspondence around here to draw
attention to one-another's errors.

If you look at the number of Western scholars found variously in
Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Vientiane, you have
a varied and interesting pool of talent --but they do not have any
common plenary or conference, nor any common contact with an
instituion in the region.  It would be fruitful to somehow put (e.g.)
the Center for Khmer studies (Siem Reap) into contact with the Center
for Burmese Studies in Chiang Rai, etc. etc. --currently, we're all
isolated.

Although I now "know" Harald & David, we still have no "affiliation"
in any kind of philological organization; I even have e-mail with
Filliozat & Skilling once in a while (they're both in Bangkok) --but
none of these people know one-another.

We should talk to Kate Crosby and get SOAS to have an annual
conference in Champasak or something.  We could all worship the giant
stone elephant.

On an even sillier note: do you have (or know of) any publication
where I could find the (Lao) lyrics for the various National Anthems
and Patriotic songs that I see/hear on Lao TV?  This would be a really
useful means of language practice for me --but I can't sing along if I
don't first study the words on paper, decode them with a dictionary,
etc.

E.M.